A wireless network comprises at least one terminal communicating with at least one network node. For example, in UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) a Node B communicates with at least one User Equipment (UE). In LTE (Long Term Evolution) an evolved Node B (eNodeB) communicates with at least one UE. In the uplink direction, comprising transmissions from the terminal to the network node, a scheduler in the network node determines when a terminal can transmit data to the network. The scheduler in the network node is alerted to the fact that a terminal has data to transmit by a scheduling request (SR) sent from the terminal to the network. If the network node receives more scheduling requests than it has resources to service, then some terminal's scheduling requests are not fulfilled. In this situation the terminal must store the data it has ready for transmission in a local buffer and resubmit the scheduling request. The buffer size has a finite limit and in a congestion event the terminal may fill its buffer. Once its buffer is filled, the terminal must drop packets, which has a negative impact on terminal functionality.
There is thus provided an improved method and apparatus for monitoring congestion status in a network.
3GPP technical specification 36.321 version 8.4.0, incorporated herein by reference, describes the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol. This technical specification describes the MAC architecture and the MAC entity from a functional point of view. E-UTRA defines two MAC entities; one in the UE and one in the E-UTRAN. These MAC entities handle a plurality of transport channels. This technical specification describes how scheduling is performed in an E-UTRA network.